This spring I put in 18 tomato plants. For a girl who doesn’t like tomatoes, that’s a lot. My plan was to can them and enjoy home-grown goodness all winter long. I love tomatoes in salsa, soup, chili, and a host of other cooked dishes. I also love designing labels. This week, enough tomatoes finally ripened to make my first batch of sauce. I decided this was a great time to make some new sauce labels and share them with like-minded canning enthusiasts…

After the success with the pickled banana peppers, and with the abundance of peppers in season, I decided more pepper pickling was in order. Inspired by candied jalepeños I’d once had on a pub burger, I opted to try a sweet-hot blend instead of pure zesty heat. I would call these “sweet”, not “candied”, but they are delicious and definitely won Josh’s seal of approval. Try them on burgers in place of dill pickles, or do like us, and eat them right out of the jar!

Last night was pesto night and I needed something to share at the office potluck today. Clearly, a simple pesto dip with a baguette was my go-to. Even more fitting, the theme of the potluck was appetizers. After making this for the first time, I can now say it will be one of my summer go-to’s. Basil season is in full swing. Here’s a great way to enjoy it.

Yesterday was Pesto Night! After sending Josh an email with the aforementioned subject line, I was listening to one of my favorite audiobooks for the second time: Barabra Kingsolver’s, Animal Vegetable Miracle. On my drive home, I came to the chapter proclaiming that August (as opposed to January) was the time to be thinking about pesto. Clearly, it was meant to be pesto night…

Let me just say that I love pickles! Ever since I was a kid. Dill pickles, spicy pickles, pickled onions… there’s just something about that zesty crunch. So when I came across a bounty of banana peppers at the farmer’s market, I decided to try my hand at pickling them myself. We love pickled banana peppers on sandwiches or with roast beef…